Hello, all:
This thread about London book stores brought back a great memory of the first
time I discovered Motorbooks.
It was November 1990, and my wife and I were on our first trip to London. We
were walking back to our hotel from the theater late at night and happened
upon Motorbooks.
As a gearhead, I was quite excited to find such a store, but when I looked in
the display window I nearly fainted.
There in the center was a copy of my first book, Vintage Racing British
Sports Cars, which had been published in the U.S. just a few months earlier.
The next day, my wife went shopping and I returned to Motorbooks on my own to
tell them how thrilled I was to see my book in their window.
My naieve enthusiasm quickly met stolid British reserve.
Me: "Hi, my name is Terry Jackson and I was walking by your place last night
and I was surprised to see my book, British Racing Vintage Sports Cars, in
your window.''
Clerk: "You really shouldn't be surprised to see a book like that in a shop
like this. Do you need any help finding anything else?''
Ego properly deflated, I nonetheless wound up buying a couple of hundred
dollars worth of books.
It really is an amazing place, even if they don't stroke the fragile egos of
first-time writers.
Terry Jackson
Miami Herald
|